Gardeners brave snow for seed exchange
West Milford. Local gardeners gathered at the West Milford Library for an annual seed exchange hosted by the Nature Connection, sharing seeds and information while supporting community gardening efforts.
| 10 Feb 2026 | 11:04
Ilana Mason and Wren Mason, 9, of Ringwood are shown. (
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Jim Segal of West Milford, from Nature Connection, Apple Acres and the Wallisch Homestead. (
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Books are on displayed on the table. (
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Kai Erich, 6, and his mother, Kay Erich, both of West Milford, share their seeds. (
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Despite temperatures in the 20s and 15 inches of snow on the ground, numerous local gardeners anticipated spring and braved the weather to attended a seed exchange on Saturday, Jan. 31, at the West Milford Library.
The annual event is sponsored by the Nature Connection of West Milford. Gardeners donated seeds to other gardeners, which offers a chance to try out new varieties of plants. In addition, winter gardening and general gardening information was dispensed.
The Nature Connection provides 65 garden plots across two prize–winning locations for community members to plant organic gardens; one located at Apple Acres and the other at the Wallisch Homestead. They also collect donated produce for the Ample Harvest Program which, in turn, donates the collected food to six food pantries.
Major Nature Connection projects are the West Milford Farmer’s Markets; one held in the summer months and the second held in the winter months. In addition, they make culinary and medicinal offerings from the herbal plant garden at the Wallisch Homestead, and they present monthly public educational talks at the West Milford Library.
